A 31-year-old tank commander of the Russian army from Buryatia held a civilian hostage during an attempted occupation of the Kyiv region, threatening him with execution. Prosecutor’s investigators found out about it, and Slidstvo.Info journalists identified the occupier.

In December 2022, Ukrainian law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war during the occupation of Kyiv region on tank commander of the 5th Tank Brigade of the 36th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation Army, Aleksei Khaludorov.

At the end of February, the Ukrainian Armed Forces defeated Khaludorov’s unit near the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv Oblast. The tank commander managed to escape and hide in the forest. The occupier was looking for ways to safely reach the location of the Russian military and decided to take a local civilian hostage. 

Khaludurov attacked the civilian, whom he spotted on a private farm in the village of Fasova. Threatening him with a weapon, the soldier took the man’s mobile phone and wristwatch and forced him to hide it on the farm.

For two days, Khaludurov mocked the man, demonstratively removed the gun safety and threatened to shoot him. The Russian ordered the man to accompany him to the village of Kopyliv, where he believed there was a unit of the Russian armed forces. On the way, the victim managed to escape. Unfortunately, the occupier also escaped.

The journalists of Slidstvo. Info identified the Russian occupier by his pages on the social network VKontakte. Aleksei Khaludorov is 31 years old and lives in Ulan-Ude (Republic of Buryatia).

 

The occupier is married and has a son, whom he boasts about on his VKontakte page. The man presents himself as a loving and caring father. 

Before occupying Ukrainian lands, the Russian soldier graduated from Buryatia State University, where he participated in football competitions.

The occupier led a rather active life – he travelled and took part in various events. In particular, at one of them, Khaludorov is dressed in a national Buryat costume, waving the flag of dictator Putin’s United Russia party.

According to the occupier’s page, Khaludorov professes Buddhism. Although this religion considers military service undesirable, this did not stop him from putting on a military uniform and going to kill civilians in Ukraine.

Slidstvo.Info journalists also found the occupier’s page on TikTok. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Khaludorov tried to become a blogger – he posted videos of his trips around the city at night with his young son in the front seat of the car.

However, Putin’s order to occupy a neighbouring country and kill its civilians interrupted his blogging career. The last video on the net dates back to October 2021. It is likely that Khaludorov, along with other occupiers, was preparing to invade Ukraine. The Russian military is still alive and regularly visits his VKontakte page. It is not known whether he is currently in Ukraine.

The Russian occupier faces up to 12 years in prison for his crimes (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, part 1).

READ ALSO: Teenage shapeshifters: how little Ukrainians are being raised to become Russian soldiers